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SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Malaysia Ushers In Democracy

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Thursday, 13 March 2008 10:51

By Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, Mar 12 (IPS) - Following last weekend’s general elections, Malaysia finds itself firmly among South-east Asia’s promising democracies that afford space for strong opposition voices to rein in their governments.

The impressive showing of the opposition parties at Saturday’s poll saw the ruling National Front (NF) coalition (or Barisan Nasional), lose its dominant grip on power after 40 years. Opposition lawmakers won 82 out of the 222 seats in the parliament, a dramatic increase from the 19 seats they had held in the outgoing legislature. The opposition also gained control of five of Malaysia’s 13 states.

Till this month’s poll, the NF had continued to enjoy a two-thirds majority in parliament, consequently giving rise to strong autocratic leaders like the former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who ruled the country for 22 years. But the current leader, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, faces a new political reality, after the governing coalition he led won 140 seats, a little over 60 percent of the constituencies.

‘’We are very surprised with the results, but it is clear that the issues we campaigned on like corruption, the economy and high crime rate struck a chord with the electorate,’’ said Teresa Kok, who was returned to parliament for the third time for the opposition Democratic Action Party. ‘’Finally, the people of Malaysia felt bold enough to demand for change. This has never happened before.’’

The electoral results are a landmark for democratic politics in the country, she added during a telephone interview from Kuala Lumpur. ‘’It opens the space for a two-party system.’’

The significance of the moment was not lost on commentators in the local mainstream media, where government pressure has historically kept a tight lid on dissent. ‘’In the years to come this election may well be remembered as Malaysia’s rite of passage to democracy,’’ wrote Shad Saleem Faruqi in the Internet edition of the ‘Star’ newspaper. ‘’A maturing electorate saw through all the political rhetoric, the issues of corruption, arrogance of power and price rises.’’

Even some of the country’s regular foreign critics offered a bouquet. ‘’Malaysia’s elections this past weekend should be heralded as an important gain for democracy in South-east Asia,’’ remarked Freedom House, the Washington D.C.-based political and civil liberties watchdog, in a statement released Tuesday. ‘’Despite attempts by the ruling coalition to suppress opposition voices by arresting activists and restricting public demonstrations, opposition parties quadrupled the number of seats they hold, gaining the capacity to block government efforts to amend the constitution, as it has done frequently in the past.’’

In fact, the political realignment in Malaysia deals a blow to an old political order that had defined a regional grouping since its inception, the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN). The five founding countries -- Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand -- had governments that made a strong case for dominant one-party states, where any hint of opposition was crushed.

Consequently, ASEAN was the home to strongmen like Indonesian leader Suharto, Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos and authoritarian prime ministers like Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore and Mahathir of Malaysia. The policy of the one-party state was even defended by Lee and Mahathir as a feature of ‘’Asian values,’’ where political and civil liberties had to give way to development and economic progress.

Today, however, Singapore is the only founding member of ASEAN still clinging to the old political order of the strong one-party state. For company in the regional grouping, which has marked 41 years and has expanded to 10, the affluent city-state has communist-ruled countries Vietnam and Laos, military-ruled Burma and the absolute monarchy in Brunei. Cambodia, the other ASEAN member, has more political freedom.

Yet the prospect of the political wave that swept through Malaysia being repeated in other ASEAN countries appears remote. Most so in Singapore, the richest and most developed of ASEANs remaining one-party states. The ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) has held on to power since 1959. It holds 82 of the 84 seats in the current parliament, which was elected in 2006. The PAP enjoyed a similar dominance in the last parliament, following the 2001 poll.

‘’The ruling party sees an opposition party as a threat and it pursues a lot of measures to keep the opposition outside the political spectrum,’’ Chee Soon Juan, leader of the Singapore Democratic Party, said in a telephone interview from the city-state. ‘’It has been done by filing lawsuits against opposition figures, using the internal security act and even banning podcasts and using SMS during election campaigns.’’

Yet he concedes that Malaysia’s transformation is ‘’very encouraging’’ for opposition parties in the region that face autocratic regimes. ‘’There are lessons to be learnt. The opposition parties and activists in Malaysia have been pushing the limits of the government, and they are now enjoying the fruits of their labour.’’

And for ASEAN to grow up politically, the fear among the majority of the group’s countries to embrace a stronger and vocal opposition has to end, says Endy Bayuni, chief editor of ‘The Jakarta Post’. ‘’Countries need healthy debates in parliament, which will now happen in Malaysia. It means that the government will have to explain and fight for its policies.’’
The Malaysian polls confirm that people have grown tired of the arguments for the strong one-party state, he explained during a telephone interview from Jakarta. ‘’It may have served governments during the early stages of nation-building but not now. That era is over.’’ - ALIRAN

Comments (8) Add Comment

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written by hiro, March 13, 2008 11:14:39

I think Malaysians should keep their eye on the ball. There is no doubt that Opposition gain is good for democracy come what not even if cracks are appearing, and will appear from time to time within the Opposition ranks.

Take for example the issue of NEP - I believe that the contrast between DAP and PAS has simply been blown up by BN controlled media. DAP is saying drop the name, but we will still protect those in need. PAS is saying NEP in its current form is bad and so must be reformed, which essentially means there will also be protection for the needy but not those who can already stand on their own two feet.

The other issue is Perak MB matter. I believe it is not so much a matter of DAP reneging on its undertaking to the Sultan that the Sultan's choice will be honoured, but more of a miscommunication between DAP CEC and DAP Perak. Imagine this. You own a holding company. You have a subsidiary. You gave your subsidiary instruction A but your subsidiary go and execute instruction B (for whatever reason - defiance, mistake etc...). It's called ultra-vires (acting outside its ambit of power). So it is an internal DAP issue, which must be sorted out through DAP party discipline. It has nothing to do with the Opposition coalition as a whole.

As for the civil society, we must and will always remain a watchdog, not only on BN, but also now on the Opposition Coalition.

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written by asguard, March 13, 2008 11:50:58

Please do what is right for the sake of the people that is more important...you're elected by the people, for the people...remember always... you're serving the people and not people are serving you!

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written by Sudahlah tu, March 13, 2008 12:15:38

Dasar Ekonomi Baru haruslah dihapuskan sama sekali disebabkan perlaksanaannya selama ini tidak benar2 membawa kebaikan seimbang kepada orang Melayu secara umumnya.
Kini, Malaysia sudah berada dilandasan perpaduan serta kesejahteraan untuk seluruh rakyat dan satu pembentukan dasar ekonomi harus diwujudkan dalam konteks sedemikian.
Walau pembentukan dasar perpaduan mungkin dicabar oleh kerajaan BN, rakyat di negeri2 parti BR harus memberi peluang untuk melaksanakan dasar ekonomi perpaduan untuk membuktikan wujudnya Bangsa Malaysia.

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written by CitizenBodohland, March 13, 2008 12:50:15

BARISAN RAKYAT must be formed officially as the first crucial step. Then work towards a three (or more) multiracial parties within the coalition.
PAS - rope in more Chinese Muslim and Indian Muslim while having a non-muslim supporters division with ISLAM as your pillar of governance.
DAP - rope in more Malays and Indians with DEMOCRACY as your axis of ideology.
PKR - Stay with your concept of MULTIRACIAL, and continue to strengthen the coalition.

Please note the powerful words in capital letters which will define the following:
ISLAM - The official religion of Malaysia.
DEMOCRACY - The pillar of good and fair governance.
MULTIRACIAL - The Malaysian Strength for Economy.
This will show that BARISAN RAKYAT is a COMPLETE PARTY.

By 2013, you will enter 13GE as a coalition of MULTIRACIAL parties. Which party representing which race will be a non issue by then. Not like the Barisan Najis with UMNO for Malays, MCA for Chinese and MIC for Indians. Rakyat will know which one is the obvious choice by then.

13GE WILL SURELY BELONG TO BARISAN RAKYAT.

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written by Sagaladoola, March 13, 2008 13:08:47

Thank you Bloggers !

We made History ! People, keep on making history. We have to save the country !

Regards,
http://sagaladoola.********.com

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written by Uncorruptible, March 13, 2008 23:12:54

Every country in the world seems to know that Malaysia was not a democratic state under the bn, and they are so happy for us.
For once, we are ahead of Singapore.

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written by asiana888, March 15, 2008 06:04:51

Well done Malaysia! We cannot fault Singapore 'cos the govt ropes in the "best people" for the job to lead the country. They set out rules and play by it. If the people of Singapore wants to choose PAP .... so be it! If Singaporeans want to choose Opposition, they have their chance in the election.

But like BN, PAP has got a strong grip on the mainstream media .... so the Singaporean Opposition need to come to Malaysia to learn from our champion bloggers!

Thanks to all the blogers out there that have made this 12th GE a historic moment for us all!

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written by angfaulith, March 16, 2008 15:11:58

yes thank you to dap for working with is in pas. we want a truly islamic state . free of corruption and nepotism. free of vices. thank you for allaying your chinese voters by showing them the way in perak by agreeing that a muslim must be the leader. thank you dap.

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